


i'm just waiting on a friend

by green_tea31



Series: Cairo Day 2019 [2]
Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Cairo Day 2019, First Meetings, Gen, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-09
Updated: 2019-04-09
Packaged: 2020-01-07 11:36:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18409835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/green_tea31/pseuds/green_tea31
Summary: Jack Dalton in reality…isn’t quite what Bozer expected…scratch that, he’s not what Bozer expected at all.He looks like the kind of badass who successfully watched Mac’s back, from his relaxed posture to his scruffy beard, but the blinding grin is a bit…disconcerting.(Jack and Bozer's first meeting because, as it turns out, a man can have more than just one best friend.)





	i'm just waiting on a friend

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to write Jack and Bozer's first meeting for a long time and how could I not for the Cairo Day prompt "best friends"?
> 
> As always, self-betaed. All mistakes are my own.
> 
> Title from "Waiting On A Friend" by the Rolling Stones.

When Mac told him he’d be spending a few weeks in Texas with Jack Dalton, his Overwatch from Afghanistan, Bozer hadn’t really known what to think. He knew of Jack Dalton, of course, having read about him in Mac’s countless letters and listened to Mac ramble about his fellow soldier in their rare but treasured phone calls.

The day Bozer had met Mac at the airport, tired and smiling but with an undefinable _something_ in his eyes, Bozer had been forced to realize that he’d never get the old Mac back, the carefree, overgrown Golden Retriever puppy who was too smart and too kind for the world they lived in. He was still there but…muted and withdrawn in a way he’d never been before.

The screaming nightmares take him by surprise even if they probably shouldn’t have because Bozer has done _research_ , he’s done so much research he could have given a lecture about soldiers returning from war and the causes and symptoms of PTSD.

He thought he’d be _prepared_.

Turns out reality is a lot shittier than he could have ever prepared _for_.

The fact that Mac doesn’t come to Bozer for help smarts just a little, even if he tries to supress that reflex. Mac calls Jack instead, calls the ominous, badass, Special Forces protector he’s somehow acquired in Afghanistan and didn’t manage to lose on the way home. And that’s all Jack Dalton is to Bozer at first, a nebulous, larger than life figure who saved Mac’s life several times, there might have been mutual life saving going on, he isn’t entirely clear on that point, and who’s coming to LA because apparently Mac’s been invited to the ranch, by Jack’s _mother_ of all people and could Bozer welcome him because Mac has a doctor’s appointment at the exact time Jack is due to arrive.

 _Of course_ he has.

Jack Dalton in reality…isn’t quite what Bozer expected…scratch that, he’s not what Bozer expected _at_ _all._

He _looks_ like the kind of badass who successfully watched Mac’s back, from his relaxed posture to his scruffy beard, but the blinding grin is a bit…disconcerting. If Mac’s description of Jack Dalton is in any way true the man could probably take Bozer apart with his little finger and he isn’t quite sure how to navigate this first meeting without his roommate-shaped buffer between them.

“Bozer, right?” Jack Dalton asks him with the confidence of a man who knows he’s expected. Bozer shakes his hand and Dalton saunters into the house carrying a plastic bag of dubious origin.

“I brought some stuff. Didn’t know if you drank beer?” Bozer finally wakes from his stupor.

“You didn’t need to bring anything, man, but thanks.” He takes the bag and motions for Dalton to follow him. “Come on, we’re out back.”

They make their way out to the fire pit and Dalton whistles in appreciation.

“Now that’s what I call a view. The kid wasn’t joking when he described this.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty impressive.” Bozer stops next to Dalton and takes in the view. It feels weird seeing it through a stranger’s eyes again after he’s almost gotten used to it himself but he finds he kind of likes it.

“Mr Dalton…,” Bozer begins carefully because there’s something he wants to say and if he doesn’t do it now he’s probably not going to do it at all.

“Call me Jack,” ~~Dalton~~ _Jack_ says while still gazing out over the LA skyline.

Bozer takes a deep breath. “Jack…I wanted to say thank you.”

Jack turns to him with a raised eyebrow. “For what?”

“I…when Mac joined the Army and went to Afghanistan I…I was afraid I’d never see him again. I mean,” he trails off and glances at Jack who regards him with a curious smile and an incredibly patient expression that Bozer can imagine having been levelled at Mac more than once.

“Mac is my best friend…no, he’s my _brother._ Without him…without him I wouldn’t be who I am today and I like who I am and I can’t imagine my life without Mac and maybe that’s selfish but you brought him back _safe_ and that’s…just _thank you._ Thank you for bringing him back home…and for still being there for him when I’m not enough to help him anymore.”

“Bozer,” Jack begins and turns to him, eyes strangely distant for a moment before he focuses on Bozer with an intensity that leaves him breathless and betrays the true depth of the man Mac brought home from Afghanistan.

“You know, when I first met the kid I couldn’t stand him, hell…we kinda beat the _shit_ out of each other the first time we met but…thing is, Mac’s perhaps the strangest guy I ever met and I met some doozies let me tell you but he’s also maybe the greatest man I ever met and I have every intention of sticking around and watching his back as long as he’ll let me.”

Jack ducks his head, almost as if he’s embarrassed and Bozer can’t quite imagine this larger-than-life man being embarrassed yet but he imagines that in time, maybe he will.

That maybe in time Jack Dalton will be his friend, too.

They already have the most important thing in common – everything else will come in time.

Bozer grins at Jack. “Well, you have my vote. Keeping Mac safe from himself is definitely a two man job on a good day. The stories I could tell you man…” Jack grins back.

“Stories, eh? Any good ones?” Bozer wanders over to the fire pit and sits down, motioning for Jack to join him. It’s a lovely evening. Bozer has prepared enough food for half a dozen people, they have beer chilling in the fridge and in about half an hour he and Jack will drive to Mac’s therapist’s office where Mac will bitch at them about sadistic doctors and Jack will make a cryptic comment about being on the other end for once.

“Weeell, first of all – _never_ let Mac do any engineering before he’s had his coffee or you’ll end up with a sentient toaster.”

For now, Bozer works on making a new friend.  


End file.
